Benevolence of Braex
by hyoriu
Summary: "We must become our own beacon; or simply emerge ourselves into this rising night." A fresh story of a new group of characters who live in a city deserted by the rest of the world, plunged into the darkness of the human heart. Follow our new protagonists as they find out whether they are the flare that breaks through the night sky, or the same sky the suffocates said light out.
**_Benevolence of Braex_**

* * *

 _"_ They _left_ us, _in this city, this place. So now, it is_ our _time. In this desolate area, deserted by all superheroes and guardians alike, we will either become its greatest saviors, or its most ruthless plague... Since this city does not reach the sun's eye, we must become our own beacon; or simply emerge ourselves into this rising night."_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: A Cold Touch**

Ralph never liked waking up. His dreams alone were of him staying asleep, never having to wake up to face the harsh reality before him. Alas, all good dreams must come to an end, right?

Peeling his seemingly cemented eyelids open, he rolled over to his back to face the ever so familiar ceiling. It was a routine of his, waking up a couple of minutes before his alarm could wake him. His ceiling seemed to be the only thing that never changed in his life. The fan always spun when he woke up, the peculiar piece on the edge of falling since his father and uncle had installed it back when he was little. He had quite the scare when the fan dropped a bit, leaving spiderweb cracks in the ceiling. Back then, when he was afraid, his father would come in and talk to him in an effort to reassure Ralph until he fell asleep. His dad often did a lot back when he...

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

His alarm sounded, snapping him out of his daze. He realized he had been gripping his blanket tightly, and upon releasing his iron grip on the sheets, he leaned over to jam his finger onto the "Off" button of his alarm clock on the floor. It was annoying, really, but the task succeeded in waking him up. Scratching his head, he lightly pushed the sheets from over his body and threw his feet over, the cold floor sending tingles from his toes up his body. Lifting his chin slightly, he sniffed the air in an attempt to see whether his mother was up or not. Usually around this time either her perfume would hang in the air or the smell of cooking food with enter his nostrils. At the moment, however, he smelled neither, which meant that either she had left early or—

"I'm late!" He heard a shriek from the room next to his. He heard hurried footsteps stomp about the house until a worried face peeped through his door that lay ajar. "You up?" His mother whispered quietly, strands of her light brown hair falling over her face.

"Mmmn..." Ralph nodded at her. "Alright," she rose her voice a bit, cracking the door open a bit more, "I need to go in the bathroom first. I'll be right out. Okay?"

Ralph nodded and gave a thumbs up before he heard the thud of his door closing. He turned his head to peer towards the window behind him, a soft blue light entering the room. It had been a while since his mother had been late, but he didn't complain; the main reason he set his alarm clock to be this early was so he could get an extra 30 minutes of sleep in the bathroom. Still, he decided he should at least get his clothes together.

Stretching his body out and arching his back like a lazy cat, he let out a loud yarn, picking himself off the bed to move to the light switch next to his door handle. He shut his eyes once more as a somewhat harsh yellow light illuminated the room before it changed into a clearer white. He hated opening his eyes at this time too because it reminded him of just how empty his room was. Looking towards his left while still facing his switch, all that stood was a large wooden dresser with a huge, old-style TV in the corner. On the right of that was a closet full with barely anything, only old clothes that he had never gotten to donating. There really was no point in donating anyway. There was no telling where most of those clothes ended up, and they certainly didn't seem like they ended up where they were supposed to.

Walking to his dresser, he realized almost too late to beware of the tiny nail that poked from right in front of his dresser. He used to get a lot of cuts on his feet as a little kid, but whenever the time came he would always forget to pull it out. Opening the drawer and pulling out a t-shirt and some underwear, he walked to his bed and picked up his phone. It wasn't much of a phone, an old one that could only send and receive messages and calls, but it got the job done.

 _7:28 A.M. No new messages._

His mom should get out in about 4-5 minutes if she had gone in as soon as she closed the door. She was fast in the bathroom when it mattered, and, unfortunately for him, being on time for school was one of those times where it mattered. It was strange though, because as much as she cared about him going to school on time, she never really cared that much about his grades. Of course they would go out if they were good, but besides that it was never mentioned. That was a while ago, though, back when he still went to school. His mother was a strong woman, he decided a long time ago. Living in the city of Braex was not any walk in the park, for _anyone_ living here.

The city of Braex was one of the few cities that had been left.

Choosing a random pair of pants and a shirt, he opened his door to see his mother rushing out, her hair tied into a tight ponytail and the familiar scent of her perfume permeating the air as she went to his right and into her room. One of the few, and Ralph meant _few_ , good things about his room was that he got to hear everything going on in the house, for better or worse.

Stepping in, he closed the door from the house and to the world to be alone for the few minutes he had. He stared at himself in the mirror. There was nothing special about him, he was just an average Joe. Dark brown eyes, light brown slightly spiky hair, _very_ lightly tanned skin; Ralph could probably pass by someone he saw everyday and they'd still get him confused for someone else.

He sighed deeply. He truly didn't feel like going to school today. He could just ask his mother to stay home-and she would let him, no doubt-but he owed it to her to go to school today. Sighing again, he turned to turn on the shower water. ' _For you.'_ He told himself.

* * *

Coming out the bathroom, her turned his head to see his mother in the kitchen, practically throwing cereal out of the box into a bowl that was probably meant for Ralph. The television was on, the news declaring the official renaming of the city of Braexington to Braexberg. This had been the third time this year it changed, but it didn't matter; the city was always and will always be known by its people as "Braex".

"Oh, honey," his mother turned to see him staring at the tv with mild amusement, "I left the bracelet on your bed. It would mean a lot to me if you wore it to school today. You know, for good luck?" She smiled half-heartedly. She already knew his response.

"Mom," he bit his lip in an attempt to subside his anger, "I already told you-"

"Ralph, please." She put the box of cereal down a little forcefully, staring at him with strong eyes that still held a slight plea in them. "Your father would want you to be confident on your first day back. Please, Ralph. For me."

For a long moment they stared at each other. Most subjects Ralph would just accept and move on, but the few subjects he was willing to fight for, he was headstrong about it. But the look her eyes gave him...

"...Alright. For _you_." Ralph said with a tint of bitter in his voice, turning to walk in his room and grab his book bag. "Thank you!" he heard his mom say before he turned the corner and entered his room.

It was very easy to spot the wrist-wear, the item midnight black against the light blue sheets that lay half on his bed, half on the floor. He glared at the thing with anger, with hatred; all the pent up emotions he had toward his father. Ripping his bag from the peaceful and quiet spot on wooden floor, he clutched the black decoration and shoved it into one of the side pockets that was already unzipped. Zipping the pocket up, he left behind all the curses and swears with it. This was a new day, and, for the most part, a new start. He had to start it off on a good note, or the rest would go to hell.

. . .

Ralph wondered about taking the school bus before deciding against it. "Baby steps..." he mumbled to himself. He checked his phone again.

 _7:37 A.M. No new messages._

If he took the other bus, he should be fine. He already knew the driver, Pete, whom had been a close friend to the family. In fact, as he thought about it, he was vaguely familiar of some other students who took that bus in order to get to school earlier for their needs. Ralph nodded, deciding to take the school bus another day and the public bus today. Ralph had about eight minutes to get there, but luckily for him, the stop was only a block away.

Walking down the streets of Braex was always gloomy in Ralph's opinion, some parts more dangerous than others. The particular neighborhood Ralph lived in was one of the more nicer ones, but no street was exactly "peaceful". There were the occasional gangs in the town, but the main problems were drug dealers and addicts. A lot of wicked went on in the streets, and if you didn't know those around you, you could end up hooked on something for the rest of your life. Or worse.

The houses Ralph passed by were fairly raggedy. Ralph himself lived in an apartment, so he couldn't really say much about houses. They never had enough money to move out. There was rarely a house without any graffiti, and it was even rarer to spot one that had all its windows and doors. The amount of pillaging done, neighbor against neighbor, was insane. No one could stop the turmoil Braex was in now. It had gone too far.

Arriving to the bus stop, Ralph was surprised himself when no one had bothered him on the block. He was on constant alert just in case anyone tried to rob or kidnap him. It had never happened to him, but the stories and events that happened were all too real to be ignored.

He arrived at the bus stop as soon as the last passenger had boarded the bus. Boarding on the bus last, Pete looked up to see Ralph with a mixed look of surprise and anger. "Ralph? What are you doing here—" Before Pete could continue engaging with one of his lectures, Ralph slid a dollar bill into the machine and went to the back of the bus. He knew it was a bad idea to come to someone he knew, but Ralph just didn't feel like dealing with people from his school at the moment. He wanted to at least take his time adjusting. The bus was fairly empty anyway, so as he went down the aisle, he sat down in front of an elderly man reading the newspaper.

Soon the bus started moving and its soothing vibrations of the engine purred, allowing Ralph's mind to drift from the gloomy place he lay trapped in since his birth. At this point, Ralph honestly couldn't stand living in this place. He couldn't stand the same faces that feigned happiness so easily, the resigned look behind everyone's eyes, the _visibly_ dispirited roads and sidewalks that allowed the wicked actions to go on. He was tired of breathing blighted air that permeated his lungs, the stinging sensation making him want to hold his breath until his head fell back to stare at the damned everlasting black sky that hung above him. He hated, no, _loathed_ this place with every fiber of his being. There was no hope of change. He needed to leave.

. . .

Ralph slid out of the back when the bus stopped near his school, not wanting to argue with Pete this morning. Pete cared for Ralph, and Ralph was grateful for that, but at the moment Ralph needed to do his own thing.

Entering the school's gates, he lifted his head to get a full view of his high school. Brown Oak High was nowhere near the best nor nicest of the schools you'll ever see, but it was one of the finer schools that Braex had to offer. There weren't many problems here due to most of the kids working hard in academics to have a decent future in life. Ralph couldn't blame them, that was basically his plan too.

It was a fairly large building, its brown bricks sharply contrasting the clean white sidewalk that the principal of the school was oh so proud of. Most of the windows were clean with the few outliers of foggy windows, students, or faculty, doing god knows what in there. Walking up to the school, he saw the school bus pull up in the corner of his eye. It was packed full of kids, and hearing the loud commotion coming from the inside—all of the windows were closed, he added—Ralph was glad he decided against taking the bus.

He passed by the bus and was at the door when he heard someone scream his name.

' _Huh?_ ' Ralph thought, ' _Is someone calling me? No, it must be some other guy._ '

"Ralph! Yo, Ray!"

Ralph continued to open the door, hesitating slightly at the use of his nickname.

' _That can't be anyone I know... right?_ '

"Banks!"

At that, Ralph turned around to see a familiar face run towards him.

"Ethan?" Ralph said with disbelief.

Ethan slowed down, panting slightly. "Yeah man," he sighed, "I kept calling you but you didn't hear me! Where have you been?"

"Uh, nowhere." Ralph faked a smile. Ethan had beed Ralph's friend since childhood, and was the one who gave him his signature nickname "Ray".

"God, man," Evan ran a hand through his raven hair, "I haven't seen you in, like, forever!"

"Haha, tell me about it!" Ralph replied, holding the door open for him.

As soon as you entered the school, no matter which door, a metal detector waited for you. One of the few reasons his mom rushed for him to be there was because it was one of the safest places to be. Taking off his bag and placing his phone in the side pocket, he slid it into the machine and went through the detector. Ethan slid through the detectors behind him, and after grabbing their bags, they started to catch up.

"Dude, you can't miss our junior year of high school," Ethan slapped his hand on Ralph's back, "You scared me for a minute there! I thought you weren't gonna come back, dude. We just have to make it one more year and we're gone! You gotta promise me you'll stay until then, alright?"

Ralph looked at Ethan and nodded silently. Ralph needed to start acting himself again, otherwise Ethan would notice something's up. "Yeah man," Ralph smiled, "Promise."

"Great!" Ethan grinned, "A lot has changed around here. We got a new technology program, too! It's so epic!"

' _That's right..._ ' Ralph thought. If you didn't know Ethan, you wouldn't think he was the nerd he was. Ethan was adored by the few girls who had class with him. Not only was he smart but his looks also helped him, Ralph guessed. The only thing that threw girls off was his best friend's obsession with technology. Ethan would probably be in the popular circle if he cared to hide that side about him. But that's what Ray liked about Ethan; he didn't care what others thought. Ethan stood up for Ralph, and for himself, more times than Ralph could remember.

"Ray? Hey, Ray? Still here, bud?" Ethan snapped in front of his friend's face.

"Huh? Y-yeah, what's up?" Ralph stuttered, snapping back into reality.

"I said do you know your schedule?"

"Uh, yeah," Ralph said, reaching into his pocket and bringing out a crumpled piece of paper, "Here it is right here."

"Alright, let's see..." Ethan took the paper out of Ralph's hands and unrolled it. "Hm... You've got my lunch period, so we can meet up there. Other than that, all your other classes are different. You've got Math first, then Science second, and today since we don't have any teachers of the music department, classes 3C and 7D all report to lunch. But, you know, just go to Math and Science first."

"Man, back to back?" Ralph groaned irritably.

"Yeah," Ethan nodded, "The good thing is that they're across the hall from each other..." Ethan said while scratching his head, "And then you've got gym. And then tomorrow you've got Art, History, and... huh, Digital Programming, with me! You decided against taking another foreign language?" Ethan smirked.

Ralph waved. "I've got the two credits I need. Never again."

Ethan chuckled, throwing his arm over Ralph's shoulder. "Well, buddy, I might as well show you to your advisory. Your teacher has to show you where to go from there, because unfortunately I've got gym first period."

"Dang dude, we don't have the same advisory?" Ralph sighed, slightly saddened. He didn't really know anyone else in the school that well.

"Aw, don't worry man!" Ethan pulled Ralph in closer, grinning even wider, "You'll make tons of friends dude! Maybe we could hang out with them one day."

"Yeah man, whatever you say." Ralph told his friend, but honestly Ralph wasn't too sure he would make that many friends. ' _Who knows,_ ' Ralph thought, ' _New year, new people._ '

. . .

Ralph almost dozed off while his advisory teacher—a short, chubby fellow who had about 3 boxes of Cheezits on his desk—took attendance. It was weird being called for the first time. However, this was mostly due to the fact that the obnoxiously loud class grew deafly silent at the mention of Ralph's name, turning their attention to him as he called out "Here!" in a somewhat meek, hushed voice.

' _Yeah,_ " Ralph thought solemnly, ' _Definitely off to a great start..._ '

 _Ring!_

"Phew..." Ralph let out an audible sigh, "Saved by the bell..."

"Mr. Banks!" the teacher called as the rest of the students began dispersing into the hallways.

"Mmm, yes, Mr.," Ralph quickly scavenged for his name tag on his teacher's junky desk, "Hill?" Ralph faked a smile.

"Yes. I know you're new around here, so I asked a fellow student if he could show you around. Ralph," Mr. Hill pointed to Ralph's right, "Meet Mr. Itzal."

Ralph looked to the right and practically jumped out of his skin when he saw another student actually standing there. How long had he been there?

"Hi," he said a bit too quietly, "My name is Cain."

"My name's Ralph." Ralph offered his hand for a handshake, and, after a brief moment of hesitation, the shaggy, raven-haired kid shook it awkwardly. Cain was kind of on the pale and skinnier side, Ralph noticed, and his hand almost felt hollow when he shook it.

"You've got math first, right?"

"Y-yeah."

"All math departments are on the third floor. I happen to have math too, so this way neither of us will be late. I'll show you the way. Goodbye Mr. Hill."

The teacher didn't seem to hear him as he began opening up another box of Cheezits. This must have been a normal case for Cain, as the boy continued to keep on walking as if this were an everyday thing.

' _What a weird school..._ ' Ralph thought to himself, following Cain's lead.

. . .

Ralph was utterly lost at how Cain had found his way to the classroom. The hallways were a mess, students of all types of different social classes clattered around in groups and cliques as if this were a party more than a school. Not only that, but keeping up with Cain alone was hard. Due to him being able to move around easily in the crowd, and also being less noticeable than others, Ralph felt as if he'd have to handcuff himself to Cain the next time they had to go to class with each other. That goes for whether their class is floors away or one room across the hall. It was _that_ easy to lose him.

Entering the math class, he noticed all the seats in the back were taken, a big group sitting in the back gossiping about something. Looking in the center, he saw some kids in a jock-like jacket being the focus of attention. Ralph shrugged and made a mental note that those were probably the "popular" kids. Ralph really didn't like or dislike sports, so he wondered if he would join a team if he got the chance. Pushing that thought aside, he walked towards the seat near the window, tight behind Cain.

"So, uh," Ralph whispered to Cain from behind, "What do we do now?"

"Wait for Mr. Rugby." he replied in the same hushed tone.

"Gotcha." Ralph said, and before he even completely laid back in his seat, the door was slammed closed. A tall, bald-headed man with a crude face and angry demeanor walked to the front of his desk and sat down, his presence alone enough to silence the room. For a moment he just stared, until his lips moved and his voice was finally heard:

"Banks?" His deep voice pierced the thick, awkward atmosphere of the room.

"H-Here!" Ralph stuttered slightly. He could feel some of the students' gaze upon the nape of his neck, and suddenly he wished he was back at home, or even the hallways for that matter. That was much better than this...

The teacher took out a pen and a clipboard, marking Ralph's attendance with a very audible check. "Brandtly." "Here!" Another student replied quickly and strongly, not risking to make the same mistake Ralph had made.

Ralph looked out the window and tried as best as possible to ignore everything around him as their teacher continued to go down the checklist. Looking outside, you could see black smoke rising from a building far in the distance, but that wasn't really out of the ordinary. Buildings caught on fire occasionally, but it was generally old buildings used as hideouts for, well, let's just say "not the best" use. Buildings were likely burned down by rogue cops or other people who had nothing better to do.

In all honesty, he had gotten used to it by now. Nothing really directly affected Ralph, so the less he knew, the better.

Looking back, he saw one of the kids in the jock uniform crafting paper airplanes at amazing speeds, creating a whole armada in a matter of seconds. What surprised Ralph most about the act was that whilst doing it, the blond had a bored expression on his face. And when Ralph said he made it in a matter of seconds, the kid did it _fast_. Whatever sport he was on, he was no doubt a star player.

"Alright," Mr. Rugby's voice boomed through the already silent classroom, "My name is Mr. Rugby for those who are new. It's nice to meet all of you. Now we're starting class."

. . .

Remember when Ralph said he needed to handcuff himself to Cain whenever he led him somewhere? Yeah, that was something he should have gone through with.

After barely surviving the boot-camp Mr. Rugby calls "Pre-Calculus", Cain had slipped into the crowd so easily that he had to ask another teacher that was standing outside her door for directions. After finally reaching the room and realizing that Cain sat among one of his friends—no, it's not that Ralph was shocked he had friends, it just, uh, startled him—Ralph was forced to sit near the front. The teacher that time, Ms. Danes, had been much nicer than his math teacher. They were almost polar opposites.

As the bell rang, Ralph made sure to keep up with Cain this time, the wave of people going to lunch even slowing down his slippery guide. After reaching the lunch line, Cain turned around and made a shocked expression when he saw Ralph had kept up with him.

"I'm surprised myself." Ralph said with a grin.

Cain turned back and nodded. Fortunately for them they were one of the firsts to the lunch line, so within a moment they were already grabbing their trays and picking up some food. Ralph had gotten a slice of pepperoni pizza, a cup of apple sauce, and white milk, while on Cain's tray lay a cup of pineapples and a water bottle he had found from God knows where.

As they both exited the lunch room, Ralph spotted Ethan. "Ethan!" Ralph exclaimed, waving at his friend with his free hand. Ethan turned around from signing some petition and smiled. "Ray, you made it through Rugby!" Ethan walked over, patting him on his shoulder. "You _knew_ I had him and you didn't warn me?"

Ethan shrugged. "Some things you gotta find out for yourself. Come on, I'll show you to our lunch table."

"Oh, cool. Here, this is—" Ralph looked to his right and suddenly Cain was gone. "Uh, nevermind." Ralph had sworn Cain was right next to him a minute ago... Oh well.

Walking through the large cafeteria, Ralph saw all types of groups. Gamers, jocks, goths, they all migrated to their own little tables, with other groups and cliques claiming tables before another one did. "Who are they?" Ralph bobbed his head to the kid he had seen in Mr. Rugby's class.

"Them? That's the sports table. Most of those guys play more than one sport at the school, and most of them are good at what they play. You see that guy right there?" Ethan pointed at the guy Ralph was actually asking about. He had tousled blond hair, blue eyes, and still the same bored demeanor even among his friends. "Yeah, what about him?" Ralph asked.

"That's Blake Jones. He's one of the best athletes around."

"Tell me about it!" Ralph said, "I saw him making paper airplanes one after another like crazy!"

"Yeah, he's pretty good at what he likes to do. I've heard his grades aren't the best, though. Either way, jocks can pretty much get into any university they want as long as they're good. Doesn't really matter to him, I guess."

As Ethan lead them to the table, Ralph saw a girl with long, black hair eating some pasta.

"Veronica!" Ethan exclaimed as they sat down at the table.

"Ethan! It's so good to see you!" She smiled, hugging him from across the table. "Who's this?"

"This is my good friend Ralph. Ralph, this is Veronica."

"Hi, nice to meet you." she smiled, holding out her hand. "You too." Ralph smiled, shaking it. Ralph couldn't help but notice she had a soft touch. He wondered if Veronica and Ethan were going out...

"So Ralph, why haven't I met you around before?" Veronica had peculiar eyes, when if you looked closely enough, you would see a tint of purple in the corners.

"Freshman year I, uh, took a break from school. Was home-schooled for a bit until my mom and I decided that I should come back."

"Oh?" Veronica smiled slightly, "You had a choice to stay out of school but you came back?"

Ethan began chuckling at this, which made Ralph laugh too. "In hindsight, it might have been me wanting to get out the house more than it was coming back here." Ralph laughed, taking a bite out of his pizza. "How did you two meet?" He asked between chomps, realizing he was hungrier than he had thought.

"I met him last year, actually." said Veronica, playing idly with the pasta on her tray with her spork, "He helped me out a _lot_ in math."

"Plus this girl has some _sick_ video game skills," Ethan commended her, "She might be the best player in the state, no lie."

"I'm not even that good," She giggled, "I'm much better at Egyptian."

"Oh? Care to play?" Ethan challenged, pulling out a deck of cards.

Veronica's lips curled into a devilish smirk. "I'm in," she nodded, "What about you Ralph?"

"I'm kinda rusty, but," Ralph stretched, and suddenly he realized he didn't feel that same awkwardness of being the new kid around these two. It felt nice, Ralph thought. "I'm in!" Ralph grinned excitedly.

"Alright, Ray!" Ethan exclaimed, "I'm dealing!"

. . .

"Slap!" shouted Veronica for the fiftieth time that period, slamming her hands upon the two 3's that cost Ray the game.

"No!" he moaned, leaning back and clutching his head in frustration, "That's, like, the fifth time you've won! How are you so good at this?"

Veronica shrugged, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I've got my share of secrets." They laughed.

"Alright, this is the last one." Ralph said as he watched Ethan shuffle the cards. "Didn't you say that three games ago?" Ethan said, looking at Ralph from the corner of his eye.

"Look, I didn't know we were keeping count here. Just shuffle the cards, ya sore loser." Ralph patted his friends back.

" _Me?"_ Ethan said incredulously. Veronica and Ralph shared a glance before bursting into laughter.

"Alright, jokers," Ethan glared at the two, "This is the last game, winner takes all the glory—"

Suddenly the bell rung, and the security guards came into the cafeteria to tell everyone to get out and go to their next class.

"Aww man," Ralph muttered, standing up and walking towards the exit, "Already?" Time had passed by so quickly when he was with people he actually got along with that lunch seemed over as soon as he got there. "Yeah man," Ethan sighed, "And you've got P.E up next. As soon as you get out the cafeteria, make a right and you'll see the gym. I'd show you where it is, but I have to get to class early to help out my teacher," Ethan said almost reluctantly, scratching his head, "The first weeks they won't care about uniform, but since you probably don't have any shorts," Ethan sighed with a look that said "I know you", "You can just borrow mine." His friend threw a pair of black shorts at him. "Just remember to wash them before you give them back!"

"Yeah yeah, I know." Ralph waved. "See you guys later!"

"Bye Ralph!" "Later, Ray!" Veronica and Ethan waved as they turned left.

Ralph sighed again, but this time with relief. Maybe school wouldn't be so bad! This was a new year, after all. He stuffed the shorts in his book-bag and turned right, making his way to class.

. . .

Walking into the gym's locker room, Ralph spotted Cain towards the back. Ralph almost forgot Cain had the same last period as him and was relieved to see him. Pushing past kids as they began opening their locks and lockers (while also avoiding the numerous stains on the ground, the smell of rotting socks and must, and stray clothes on the floor), he waved to get Cain's attention as he neared him.

Cain looked up in confusion until he recognized it was Ralph. "Oh," he said in a low voice, "Hey Ralph."

"Sup man," Ralph replied, looking around in the tiny space Cain had found. The lockers in this area were slightly smaller than the rest, but only one of them, Cain's, was occupied, so it worked out for them. "I found ya again!"

Cain nodded, opening his locker silently.

' _I guess he isn't much of a talker, after all,'_ Ralph thought, ' _He really hasn't been since I met him now that I think about it...'_

Cain looked over at Ralph as he began taking off his backpack. "You can put anything you want in my locker, if you want." He said, observing the large amount of items practically gushing out, "Preferably valuables, though. I have a lot of stuff in here."

"Oh really? Thanks man! Lemme get some stuff out. You mind waiting?"

"I'll wait." Cain sat down on the bench next to the locker, fumbling with the lock in his hand.

"Thanks!" Ralph said as he begun to dive into the endless pit he called his book bag. Unzipping the first zipper, he grabbed his phone, his charger, and his keys which had his student ID attached to it. Opening the second zipper, he looked for the shorts Ethan had given him.

' _They have to be here somewhere..._ ' Ralph thought, rummaging through his books and folders. Then, Ralph stopped. Something red glared at him from the dark within his book bag. He reached for it, his first thoughts while touching it was that it was unnaturally cold. He pulled it out and instantly regretted the decision.

"What's that?" Cain's voice pierced the silent room. Apparently everyone else had left the locker room while Ralph was looking through his bag. Ralph didn't respond, just stared at the bracelet his mother had begged him to bring to school.

Cain got up from his seat and went on the side of Ralph to get a better view of the accessory. "Woah, looks pretty cool." Cain said, slight amusement rising in his voice.

The bracelet had a strip of silver on the inside, and the rest of the inside was as black as it was on the outside. It was about the same weight as a watch, and on the front was a carved, little rhino-like creature's head, ruby red eyes staring at him in a seemingly eternal glare.

"Why don't you just put it on?" Cain suggested.

Ralph guessed it looked cool, but he hated the sight of the thing. Too many bad memories surfaced when he thought of the last owner of this...

"I'd rather not..." Ralph muttered, hiding the bitterness in his voice as best as he could.

"If your problem is the teacher, he doesn't mind jewelry or watches or anything like that. It might get stolen in my locker. Something small like that, you should keep." Cain added.

Ralph looked at him questioningly. "Then why put any valuables at all in there?"

Cain shrugged. "It's either that or keep them out in the open. Not much of a choice."

Ralph nodded, half paying attention to Cain, half his attention on the chilly bracelet in his hand.

' _I promised mom I would wear it,_ ' Ralph thought to himself, ' _This is last period. I can do one period, at least._ '

Sighing heavily, Ralph replied "Alright, I'll put it on." to Cain, but it was mostly to himself. Unfastening the bracelet, he the slid the item onto his skin, facing the little rhino head towards him. ' _For you, mom._ '

He fastened the bracelet, and suddenly it wasn't that cold anymore. He stared at his hand, and then suddenly it expanded, covering his hand an spreading along his arm and over his chest in a matter of seconds. "What the—" Ralph exclaimed, but suddenly the black thing was over him, covering his head. Everything was dark, and he dimly felt his feet get consumed also.

' _What's happening?'_ Ralph panicked. It was stuffy in this thing, whatever it was. He couldn't move, he couldn't see anything... Now that Ralph thought about it...

' _I can't breathe._ '

. . .

Cain seemed to be frozen as the new student went from looking at his bracelet to becoming it. As soon as Ralph put it on, it encased him in some black, armor-like substance. The armor seemed as frozen in place as Cain was, the clean black metal looking like sharp scales as it ran along Ralph's body. The head slightly resembled a rhino's head, a sharp point curving at the very front and top, with two mini horns towards the far back of the head. There was a sort of visor—that was _slightly_ less black than the actual armor—where Cain guessed the eyes would go, but other than that, the face of the armor was smooth.

Cain made an audible gulp. ' _What just happened?'_

Cain looked around to see if a joke was being played on him, but no one was to be found. "R-Ralph?" Cain stuttered meekly. No response.

"What the hell is going on..." Cain mumbled aloud.

Suddenly the armor dropped to its knees, almost creating a mini earthquake. "Ralph?" he touched the armor and almost cut himself. The scales were sharp after all, not just for looks...

"Hey, Ralph, buddy, if you can hear me, say something! Please?" Cain panicked. Cain's main focus was two things: 1. Not hyperventilating and 2. figuring out what was going on. Cain had a tendency to lose his breath quickly, even though he didn't have asthma, when he got nervous.

After another long moment of silence, Ralph suddenly moved his arms to his neck in a clawing motion.

"W-what?" Cain mumbled, "What are you..." Cain's eyes grew wide in realization. Ralph couldn't breath.

"R-Ralph, man are you okay? Come on, dude, if this is a prank, you're taking it too far!" Cain looked around again. No one. ' _Shit, this isn't a prank from those guys after all...'_ Cain swore mentally.

"Dammit!" Cain swore audibly this time, going around Ralph's body and looking for a zipper, a button, _something_ to get him out. "Nothing!" Cain panted, his hyperventilation kicking in. "I gotta do something, I gotta do—"

' _I gotta do_ that.'

Cain looked around one last time before taking a deep breath. No one was around. He _had_ to do this. Cain looked at his hand and concentrated it. It wavered like a mirage. Forcing the same energy to travel along his body, he tackled Ralph, dragging him—and not the suit—out as they went through the armor.

Ralph gasped loudly for air, coughing and rolling on the ground.

"A-are you okay?" Cain asked, crawling next to him.

Ralph rolled onto his back, his eyes wide in shock. "Y-you saved my life," Cain sighed with relief, flopping onto his back. That had given Cain quite the start. He had thought he lost Ralph for a second. Wait, did Ralph know—

"But, wait" Cain froze again, and suddenly it was like his body was trapped inside the armor, not Ralph's. He had used his powers, and Ralph had seen them. Maybe not clearly, but he definitely knew there was no way out of that armor. Cain waited for the inevitable, his heart pounding so hard against his chest he thought it was going to burst out. "How...

"How did you do that?"


End file.
